Christmas Update!

Well, the week flew by in a hurry, much to our dismay!

It all started a week ago. On Monday Jake went duck hunting with his friend Jarold. He had a blas. He was stoked becuase he got his first drake pintail ever!!! They also had quite the story becuase they got 12 birds with only 6 shots! That night we drove up to Logan to be with Jake's family.

Tuesday was my 22nd birthday and I was SPOILED ROTTEN! Thanks to everyone who made it special! We went out to lunch at Costa Vida. I was also able to visit some of my friends up there. That night Susan made us a YUMMY dinner that we later finished up with these AWESOME brownies with hot fudge sauce! It was delicious! It was my first birthday away from my twin brother...I did NOT like being the only one becuase that meant I had to be the center of attention and there was nobody to share it with. I tried to avoid as much attention as possible, but they didn't let me get away with too much!

On Wednesday, Christmas Eve, I went to visit my Grandma Elwood for a few hours in the morning. I really do just love her to death. She makes the BEST homemade dill pickles in the world. For Christmas she gave Jake and I her typed and bound history of her childhood to finish off the complete set that she created of her and my grandpa. What a great gift that we will be able to enjoy for generations!

That night we went to the Balls family party and enjoyed some yummy food, talents, and a gift exchange. Then we went home and zonked, waiting for Santa to come visit!

On Christmas Jake and I were SPOILED again!!!! We woke up to open presents with Jake's family. Carter, our 2 year old nephew, made the morning very entertaining! Susan made her traditional homemade orange rolls for breakfast...to DIE FOR! Each of Jake's grandparents even paid us all a visit!

After we got things wrapped up we decided it was time to brace the storm and get on our way. We drove down to Brigham to visit and have lunch with my dad and stepmom and her family. Afterwards we again hit the road and headed down to Centerville to visit the rest of my family. Although it was a lot of driving, we were lucky that we were able to see everyone! We spent the night at my mom's house and were able to spend the whole next day with them!

Friday, we had family pictures taken. Afterward, we celebrated mine and Court's birthday! We went to the movie Marley and Me, which we all loved! Afterwards we went to eat at Firehouse Pizzaria! Should I mention again that this was a week of SPOILAGE!

Thanks to all our family who made our week special! It was a great break away from everything! We feel so lucky to have such great friends and family that we are blessed with and want you all to know we love you!!!

NOT a pleasant experience!

Well, I thought I would share our few x-mas decorations in our humble basement apartment! It's definitely not very fancy but we love our warm fireplace! It doesn't look like much, but it is just right for us!

It has been snowing like CRAZY today! Jake is off hunting (I will post updates on that later) but I thought I would go into Riverdale to get a few things. That was a HUGE mistake! I still had a few more things to do but I decided it would be best to head home. It took me forever and then I realized when I was almost home that I was going to have to climb the big hill by our house!!! I was scared to death! There were cars and trucks off the road everywhere! I was just praying to make it home safe. Somehow I made it up the hill without sliding off the road or getting stuck. I already hate driving in the snow, and this experience only made that hate worse! Never again will I go out in this kind of weather...especially if it isn't a necessity! Everyone PLEASE be safe in all this snow!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

We have been loving the time we have had off of school!!!! Last Tuesday night we were able to go to the Bar J Wranglers Christmas Concert at Roy highschool (tickets courtesty of my grandma!). Some of you may not even know who they are but they are some cowboys from Jackson Hole and we love to listen to them!!! On the way home we saw some lights that really caught our eye. They were amazing...2-toned and on EVERY branch! These pictures just really do NOT do them justice!

The next day on Wednesday we went down to SLC and met Jake's parents. We went to the Body Worlds exhibit. It was amazing! Susan and I enjoyed it the most, but Alan and Jake were both really good sports about it (even after being there for 2.5 hours!) Afterwards we went to walk around temple square for a few minutes. They had a cool new display on the reflection pool. IT was really cold, but worth it! Then we headed up to Jake's brother's house to enjoy some pizza from The Pie!!!

Today Jake had the opportunity to go speak at a rehab center by our house. He did an AMAZING job (like always!) It was really a good experience and we felt the spirit really strong. The example of the residents really had an impact on me. You knew that it had taken some effort for them to get up and get ready and be there to take the sacrament.

I love this time of year!!! May we all remember the true meaning of CHRISTmas!

BIG PROJECT!

Here is a little bit of what we have been up to the last little bit:

We've really been trying to take the prophets counsel to get a food storage built up. It is quite the overwhelming job!!! We are nowhere near where we need to be, but it does feel good to be getting a start on it at least!

It doesn't look like much of a short-term food storage, but it's getting there. If only we could find some more space to put it all!!!

I went to do dry pack canning with our ward last week for the first time ever. It was a good experience and I really enjoyed myself!

We even bought some 72-hour kits and put them together!

This is actually our Christmas gift from my mom and Woody. Isn't it great!? We are so excited for our new fireproof safe to keep all of our important things safe!

Hopefully we will be ready if anything ever does happen...or I guess I should say WHEN it does, since the prophets have been telling us to do it for years!!! I think our whole motivation behind this all is one day I was thinking...If something did happen and we didn't put forth any effort to try to be prepared, I know I would think to myself...I was soooo dumb! I knew all along we were supposed to be getting ready and I just never did. Hopefully as we continue on with this ONGOING project my conciousness can rest a little bit!

If anybody has any good ideas for us to add or any good suggestions, please let us know!

Finals are finally over!

Yeah!!! The semester is finally over...although it actually went by pretty quick! Jake survived his 5 finals and his hardest semester ever. I officially have only 1 more semester left! We are really going to enjoy the short break from homework!

Jake went down to St. George to take a group of guys biking this last weekend. They had a lot of fun. I'm glad they made it home safe because they got stuck in a blizzard in Beaver! That darn snow made him an hour and a half later than expected getting home!

My little sister, Kylie, had her Christmas dance this weekend. My mom and I did her hair, and for amateurs I think it turned out pretty good! I must say, she looked pretty dang cute!